Look at me
by Emotional Intelligence
Summary: He looked her straight in the eyes and it was the eyes that made her feel so cold inside, they were so empty as if they looked right thru her and straight into her mind.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Gillied was never silent, its walls were always holding in the screams of the many unfortunate souls who were forced to enter its fort, they all fought, all but one. Arya the elf walked proudly, not making a sound as she was led away into the depth of her nightmares.

It was not like she wanted to go, no one ever wanted to go, but she had no choice and when there is no choice all that remains is dignity. Arya knew that inside the black stone walls lie the most horrid days of her life. She sadly glanced at the dying sun that was disappearing into the mountains. This could be her last glance of it and she cherished every second that she watched it shine.

"Move ya filthy little hag." Came a gruff voice, followed by a painful twist of the arm.

Arya bit on her lower lip to keep herself from screaming, it would do no good, no one could hear her now and her screaming would only make the damn beasts happy. She walked on through the gates of Gillied and into the dark world of the unknown.

The stone walls were overgrown with moss and the dark ceiling which couldn't be seen in the evenings, was dripping from several places. The corridors were so dark that if not for the torches they would be invisible.

Arya could only try to remember the many routes she was led by and all the turns she took.

'That's one way of getting rid of a person, bring him into this maze and leave him with no light or magic and he will wander these halls forever.'

She felt a shiver as she wondered how many people did just that.

Suddenly she heard the Urgal beside her shout out.

"I brought the elf, put her in the cell but don't touch her, Durza wants to have her clean for interrogation."

"Sure, what ever I'm just the guard, my job is to watch her." Came a dumb sounding voice from the darkness, then another Urgal appeared, he grabbed Arya under the arm with one great paw and unlocked the cell with the other. Then with out even looking at her, threw her through the threshold and onto the hard floor.

Arya tried to sustain her voice but she couldn't help it and landed with a painful yelp.

"That's better" came the voice of the first Urgal. "Now you lock her up and I'll call Durza," then he walked off and soon the light of his torch was lost in the darkness.

The only place in Gillied that could be considered half decent was the head office in the western wing of the prison. It was made in reasonable 18th century style, with a large black oak table and a couple of reasonably comfortable chairs. The walls of the room were bare and on the ceiling hung one age worn chandelier that looked like it hadn't been cleaned in years.

Even though this was the best place in Gillied, Durza never stayed there for long, there was always things to do and prisoners to interrogate. If ever there was time for a break, Durza usually preferred to spend it reading literature and examining old prison records.

This particular day, he was doing just that when a loud knock interrupted his reading.

"Come in." said Durza, reluctantly tearing his eyes from the scroll.

The door open and Be' gda, the chief Urgal came lumbering in.

"We have delivered the elf sir. She's locked up in the south wing, under Shu'rgels guard."

Durza's eyes glimmered, with excitement finally' he thought. It took the lumbering fools two weeks to drag the elf to Gillied, and now he finally had her.

"I will come now. You have done well and I shall give you the rest of the day off." said Durza dismissing the Urgal with a wave of his hand. As soon as the Urgal was gone Durza got up and fading, apparated to the south wing right opposite Arya's cell.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Arya watched as he entered her cell, his red hair gleaming in the reflection of the torch lights. He looked her straight in the eyes. It was the eyes that made her feel so cold inside, they were so empty as if they looked right through her and straight into her mind. Arya knew that her mind was well guarded, no one, not even a shade could break into it. Yet the eyes were making her shiver.

"Are you cold elf?" he asked her, still keeping his eyes on hers.

She didn't trust her self to speak; instead she lowered her eyes and shook her head.

"I take it you have no intentions of speaking to me." He said, his tone of voice holding a hint of a smirk.

He made his way carefully towards the single wooden bunk she was sitting on, stopping just a foot in front of her.

"Look at me elf." He ordered

Arya didn't move, she knew that she had to avoid the shades' eyes if she was to keep him from breaking through her barrier.

"You will look at me elf." Durza whispered softly.

That's when Arya felt an invisible hand pushing her chin up, she soon realized that struggling didn't help; it was as if an iron grip on her chin was lifting her head. Knowing that she would be forced to look the shade in the eyes, Arya did the only other thing she could think of, she closed her eyes.

"Open your eyes." Came the icy whisper

Arya stubbornly shook her head.

"Ahh brave, brave girl. I will ask you one last time. Open your eyes.

Arya didn't move

"You had your chance; remember that, when the cat of nine tails rips at your flesh. Guard take her to the torture room and give her ten lashes, I will come again later. Perhaps the torture will teach you to obey."

With that said, he made his way briskly out the cell, leaving Arya to be dragged away to the torture chamber.

Durza paced his room impatiently, the king had ordered him to find out everything from the elf within a span of a week and if she continued her stubbornness he wouldn't have enough time. Cursing under his breath he fell silently in to the chair and closed his eyes.

'There had to be a way into the elf's mind, he just had to find the one thing that she couldn't stand. Something that will make her desperate to break free and run. The thing that's most repulsive to her.'

After almost 4 hours of undisturbed thinking, Durza finally realized that he new exactly what made the elf feel suicidal. It was him. It was his presence, him being near her, touching her or just watching her.

That's when he knew what he should do. In a puff of grey shadow he apparated away.


	3. Chapter 3

Arya sat on the edge of her bed, silently examining the newfound bruises on her arms and legs. They were interesting to watch even though they did hurt her. The way they reddened in the beginning and an hour after they would turn blue, in time they would turn black and finally, slowly disappear as they went through the final healing stages. It occurred to Arya as she examined her wounded body that little things, like bruises would never had sparked her interests if not for the absolute boredom she found herself in. It had been two weeks since her placement in Gilied and she had not had any break in her daily routine. 

To ease her pain from daily torture Arya found it easier to think of random things, thus occupying her mind and closing her feeling to the pain. Most often she would think about the egg, Foalin, her two faithful comrades who died trying to protect her, Elismera and as unlikely as it may sound Durza.

This fascinated her beyond anything. Why she was thinking about her worst enemy almost everyday. He was after all nothing more then a shade, a being not worth looking at, for he carried nothing but evil and pain. Yet as hard as she tried she could not block him from her mind. Finally realising that she may as well give up, Arya blamed her constant wander of thought, on the simple hatred for the shade and nothing more. He hadn't visited her as he had promised on her first day at Gilied, instead he sent his interrogation wizard to try and break her mind. This angered and pleased Arya in different ways, the wizard was not as strong and experienced as Durza therefore there really wasn't much threat that he would break her barrier. On the other hand a small part of her felt irritated by the lack of interest and personal involvement he showed in her interrogation. She was after all an Elfin princess. 

Sitting on her bed listening to the sounds of Urgals voices, Aray allowed her mind to wander once again.

Durza appeared in Aryas cell as silently as if he wasn't even there. He could see the vacant expression on her face and thought about what she could possibly be thinking of. He made his way silently to the wooden bunk and sat softly next to the elf.

Arya felt a presence next to her and quickly turned her head to see who had interrupted her thoughts. It was him, sitting so quietly next to her he didn't make a single sound; not even his breathing could be heard. She watched as he observed the plain black wall opposite him, his face as always free of expression. Arya wondered why he didn't ask her anything, or at least toss a random insult or just say something. There had to be a reason for him to have come to her cell and she felt that she had to know. 

It irritated her with each passing minute that he neither moved nor said a word. The 'why' questions were running in her head over and over. 

Why is he here?

Why did he come?

Why doesn't he leave?

Why dose it matter so much?

She felt a cold shiver run through her body, all she wanted was for him to leave her alone, his presence was making her uneasy and she knew that unless he moved she would surely go mad.

Durza stayed unmoving next to Arya for over two hours, before he silently faded into darkness. He knew one thing as he watched her observe his leave with relief, she will never know why.


	4. Chapter 4

The next couple of weeks passed slowly, and every day Durza would come to Arya and sit with her silently for hours , before just as silently leaving her

The next couple of weeks passed slowly, and every day Durza would come to Arya and sit with her silently for hours, before just as silently leaving her. Every day Arya felt her emotions, starting to turn towards the shade. She no longer feared his visits but in fact, awaited them with great hope. He as silent and cold as he was , was still a person who was willing to spend some time with her every day. The silence between them changed from cold and unwelcomed to rather gentle and comforting.

If you asked Arya to tell you about these many days with the shade, she would tell you they were all the same, all but one. It was that day that stood out in Arya's memory, better then anything.

The day was hard for Arya the torture was a spatially harsh. She lay on her cot unwilling to move. It was then that she heard the almost soundless whoosh of his cloak as he appeared in her cell. She realized at once how weak she looked in his eyes, a broken elf slowly bleeding out on her death bed. She wanted to turn her head away from him, but realized it hurt too much. She heard him walk towards her until; he was standing right next to her. She didn't move. He waited patiently for her to speak, when she didn't he sat quietly on the edge of her bed, facing the wall, as he always did.

Durza found it hard to concentrate on his thoughts that day, the smell of blood from the elf was stronger then usual. He knew there was no point denying his growing attraction to the silent creature. He realized that the day he came to her cell and inwardly smiled at how willing he was to seat beside her, and how she always shifted closer to him in small, almost unnoticeable movements.

He turned to look at her body, she was heaving heavily, her chest rising and falling in a struggle to breath. Durza felt unable to keep watching her suffer, this was not the first time he felt pity for the elf, but this was the first time he would help her. He gently placed his hand on her shoulder and said

"Turn over Arya."

Arya's eyes widened as she heard him speak to her for the first time in a month. His voice brought unimaginable comfort to her. She didn't think, but obeyed instantly or at least tried to before yelping in pain and laying back down on the cot. She couldn't even move on her side, her ribs were broken. She thought that now he would consider her too weak and leave her to die, instead she felt a pair of strong arms wrap themselves around her middle and lift her into a sitting position against the wall. She looked into his eyes, but noticed that he avoided eye contact, as if he was ashamed of helping her. Arya felt Durza's hand on her abdomen, where a large cut was bleeding rapidly.

"Murdagher" he whispered and the cut healed instantly.

He did this on her broken ribs and cut legs and arms, until there wasn't a single painful part of her body. The loss of blood made Arya feel weak, and not realising it, she felt her self fall in to the arms of her healer before everything went black.

Durza knew that Arya was exhausted and there for he felt a responsibility to let her rest in his arms. He sat there for some time before deciding this was no place for her to stay, she lost enough blood to lower her immune system to dangerous levels. A cold would kill her now. Making up his mind, Durza grabbed Arya and faded with her in his arms.


End file.
